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 Inside Baseball
Posted: Tuesday April 13, 1999 03:43 PM
Drag Kings | Wohlers' Wildness Orlando Palmeiro's Dinger | The Hot Corner Spotlight: Randy Winn Royals righty Kevin Appier is being watched by pitching-hungry teams By Stephen Cannella and Jeff Pearlman
Several teams, including the Angels, Cardinals, Indians, Rangers and Red Sox, have been watching Appier, whose outings beginning with the exhibition season have attracted hordes of scouts. What they've seen is a pitcher who appears fully recovered from surgery. Appier had a 2.16 ERA in six spring starts, and his slider and splitter have been biting as sharply as they had been before he was hurt. On Sunday his fastball was just a shade below what it was two years ago. Says Royals manager Tony Muser, "Kevin looks like he's all the way back." So why is he still in K.C.? It's a seller's market, and the Royals -- who are also shopping righty Hipolito Pichardo and his $2.5 million salary -- aren't so desperate to cut payroll that they're willing to give Appier away. "We could have traded him by now if we wanted, but we haven't seen any deal that makes sense from a baseball standpoint," says Robinson, who, perhaps haunted by the fruitless 1995 deal that sent Cy Young winner David Cone to the Blue Jays for three minor leaguers, is holding out for at least two high-level prospects. He reportedly asked Texas for its top minor leaguer, 21-year-old outfielder Ruben Mateo (.307, 18 home runs for Double A Tulsa last year), but was turned down. The Royals, who have six of the first 59 picks in the June amateur draft, have already earmarked Appier's salary for signing young players, so, unlike fellow hot pitching commodities Curt Schilling of the Phillies and Kenny Rogers of the A's, Appier is certain to depart. Both Robinson and Appier's agent, Jeff Borris, say inquiries about Appier have tapered off since Opening Day, and Appier says he now expects to be with K.C. until the July trading deadline nears. That means three more months of auditions.
Fregosi in Charge: Before last Friday's game at Baltimore's Camden Yards, four Blue Jays pitchers sat in the visitors clubhouse playing poker. Toronto manager Jim Fregosi came by and peeked over the shoulder of 23-year-old righthander Chris Carpenter just as Carpenter threw down a handful of kings. "Man," said Fregosi, patting Carpenter on the back, "with that stuff, you ought to be pitching tonight." A simple, cheery moment on a team that -- despite a deep rotation and a young, powerful lineup -- had enjoyed too few of them over the past six months. "Things are comfortable around here again," says catcher Darrin Fletcher. "I have a lot of respect for Tim Johnson -- he's a good person and a good baseball man -- but the negativity wasn't going away." The negativity, of course, concerned former manager Johnson's fabricated war record and the attendant media firestorm. On March 16 Toronto general manager Gord Ash, realizing that the controversy was not going to disappear, fired Johnson after one season and replaced him with Fregosi. Although Toronto was only 3-3 through Sunday, Fregosi had restored a positive vibe in the clubhouse. "There are a lot of young, not overly outgoing people here who grew in this organization together," he says. "I'll go to bat for them." Johnson, on the other hand, was criticized for disciplining younger players while letting veterans get away with murder. Fregosi refuses to comment on Johnson's brief stint as manager, but he has undone much of his predecessor's spring plans. For instance, Fregosi scrapped the idea of batting centerfielder Jose Cruz Jr. second, in part because Cruz struck out 99 times in 352 at bats last year. Second baseman Homer Bush, who hit .380 with a .421 on-base percentage in 45 games with the Yankees in 1998, opened the season in that slot before going on the 15-day disabled list, and Cruz usually hits seventh. Fregosi also separated lefthanded hitters Shawn Green and Carlos Delgado in the order, inserting righty DH Dave Hollins into the cleanup spot between them. With a career 861-938 record as manager of the Angels, White Sox and Phillies -- he guided Philadelphia to the 1993 World Series -- Fregosi left his job as special assistant to Giants general manager Brian Sabean to accept a two-year contract with Toronto. While some might view Fregosi as an old-school skipper brought in simply to stanch the bleeding, he may have landed a golden opportunity. Winners of 88 games after a strong finish last season, the Blue Jays were expected to be a contender for the American League wild-card berth. If Fregosi can get Toronto into the playoffs for the first time in six years, he'll be the one holding the cards.
Drag Kings: Given that most players today never learn how to sacrifice bunt all that well, it's no surprise that bunting for a base hit has become virtually a lost art, an offensive weapon viewed as obsolete in the face of the power surge that has gripped baseball. "Guys today get paid for the big things," says Royals manager Tony Muser. "If they bunt for a base hit and it doesn't work, they feel like they wasted an at bat." That hasn't stopped a small group of crafty young players from making the drag bunt part of their arsenal. The White Sox' 21-year-old Mike Caruso, third in the American League Rookie of the Year voting last season, led the league in 1998 with 22 bunt singles, two more than his closest competitor, Rockies shortstop Neifi Perez, 23. Outfielder Jason McDonald, 27, of the A's, who bunted for four of his 44 hits last year, opened the '99 season with a pair of drag bunt singles in two games against the Yankees. Twenty-three-year-old White Sox rookie outfielder McKay Christensen had two bunts for hits in the season's first week, and Brewers second baseman Fernando Vina -- an old-timer at 30, who had 14 bunt hits last year -- got an RBI on April 5 when he dragged safely with a man on third against the Cardinals. "This game has become so much about power, but bunting could be used a lot more than it is," says McDonald, who with fellow outfielder Ryan Christenson, 25, was tutored in bunting this spring by A's coach Ron Washington. Caruso, who at six feet and 172 pounds is hardly a powerhouse, shares that opinion, and he practiced bunting throughout the off-season before his rookie year. "I figured it was my first year, so I should try to get on base any way I could," he says.
Wohlers' Wildness: Nod and smile as Braves manager Bobby Cox puts a positive spin on erstwhile closer Mark Wohlers's prospects. Listen patiently as Atlanta general manager John Schuerholz says he still expects Wohlers, the big righthander who saved 97 games for the Braves from 1995 through '97, to regain his old form. Then face the reality: Wohlers's major league career is in jeopardy. Earlier this spring it looked as if Wohlers, 29, would come back from the mysterious breakdown in his mechanics that caused him to lose control of his pitches last year. He was again throwing hard and accurately, tossing seven scoreless innings in one stretch of spring training. However, once the season started, Wohlers fell apart. Against the Phillies on Opening Day, he walked four, allowed an RBI double to Marlon Anderson, and turned a one-run Philadelphia lead into a 7-4 Braves defeat. Three nights later, also against the Phillies, Wohlers threw 10 pitches, one for a strike; after fielding a sacrifice bunt, he tossed the ball over first base. The next day Wohlers was designated for assignment. On Monday he announced he wouldn't report to Triple A Richmond, leaving the Braves with 10 days to deal his contract to another team. If they fail to do so, Wohlers would become a free agent. "He knew that if he came up here and had two or three bad outings in a row, that'd probably be it," says lefthander John Rocker, who is now Atlanta's closer. "He knew what he did in spring was all well and fine, but it didn't matter. He had to prove it in the games that counted." Unfortunately for the Braves, he didn't. Cox had hoped that Wohlers, who will make $5.2 million in this, the third year of a three-year deal, could win back his job after last year's closer, righthander Kerry Ligtenberg, was sidelined for 1999 with torn ligaments in his elbow. Now Atlanta has five pitchers in the bullpen with less than two years major league experience, including Rocker, who was a rookie in '98. For those close to Wohlers, however, the bullpen isn't the only concern. "I don't care whether Mark lives up to everyone's expectations," says righthander John Smoltz. "He's been a teammate of mine for a long time. You just hope for the best."
Orlando Palmeiro's Dinger: Angels fans worried about a drop-off in run production with sluggers Mo Vaughn and Jim Edmonds on the disabled list, take heart: Orlando Palmeiro is heating up. The 30-year-old Palmeiro, a .281 hitter over four seasons with Anaheim, got his first hit of the year last Friday night, a leadoff homer against Rangers righthander John Burkett. It was Palmiero's first tater in 415 career at bats, meaning he is no longer the active player with the most homerless at bats. The title now rests with Cardinals shortstop Luis Ordaz, who, through Sunday, hadn't homered in 177 at bats. The player most often mentioned in trade rumors surrounding A's lefthander Kenny Rogers has been R ichie Sexson , the Indians' 24-year-old DH, but several general managers are more impressed with Cleveland's Triple A third baseman Russell Branyan , of Buffalo. A lefthanded slugger who in 1996 led the Class A South Atlantic League with 40 home runs and 106 RBIs, Branyan, 23, missed much of last year with a wrist injury but is healthy again. "Branyan can be a great major league hitter," says one American League general manager. "I'm not sure Sexson will be." ... The Giants' Barry Bonds caught Hank Aaron on Opening Day -- with his 290th intentional walk, the National League record. Bonds, who had 291 intentionals through Sunday, will soon have the major league record, also held by Aaron, who had four free passes in the American League.... Reds general manager Jim Bowden is impressed with the work ethic of Carlos Baerga , whose excess weight and lackadaisical play gave the Cardinals reason to release him last month. Bowden picked up the 30-year-old second baseman on March 23 and sent him to Triple A Indianapolis, where Baerga has shed nine pounds and shown he's willing to make a maximum effort. "He's hungry again," says Bowden.... There's already trouble in Detroit, as a result of new manager Larry Parrish 's decision to keep rookie outfielder Gabe Kapler . The Tigers now have Kapler, Karim Garcia , Bobby Higginson , Brian Hunter and Gregg Jefferies -- all of whom expect to play every day -- sharing two outfield spots and the DH. "If I'm not playing," says Hunter, a two-year regular who rode the bench for the season's second game, "something's wrong." ... The acquisition of lefty reliever Randy Myers last August continues to haunt Padres general manager Kevin Towers . In addition to carrying a $6 million-a-year salary, the 36-year-old lefty Myers made virtually no contribution to the San Diego stretch run and postseason effort in 1998. Now he's on the DL with a strained left rotator cuff. Finally, Towers allowed an insurance policy on Myers, which would have paid off the final year of Myers's contract in case of career-ending injury, to expire because he had expected to trade Myers by now.... To stir things up at Tropicana Field, the Devil Rays hired Mike Veeck , son of legendary owner Bill Veeck , as marketing director. To mark last Friday's home opener, Tampa Bay introduced Dave Flood , a 3'2" midget who, in an affectionate nod to the elder Veeck's brainchild Eddie Gaedel, will regularly greet fans.... With the lifting of the Reds' longstanding ban on facial hair, 13 of 25 Reds are sporting mustaches, beards or goatees. Issue date: April 19, 1999
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